


as the truth unravels

by folklorekaylee



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Background Posie, F/F, Other, Posie Endgame, carol lockwood is alive, carolines keeping secrets, josie does journaling, josie doesn't know about lizzie, josie loves photography, josies an only child, stefanie and josie friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27516202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/folklorekaylee/pseuds/folklorekaylee
Summary: Josie and Caroline move back to Mystic Falls after years away, ready for a fresh start. With no explanation as to why they were moving, Josie was curious to find out what secrets her mother was trying so hard to keep from her. Little did she know that her mother's lies would slowly start to unravel when Josie finds her old jewellery box where the truth has been hiding all along.
Relationships: Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	as the truth unravels

**Author's Note:**

> hii!! so this was originally meant to be a oneshot but im thinking of maybe writing some more to it  
> lmk what you think!

They had been living at the Salvatore Boarding House for just over a week and Josie hated everything about it. When Caroline said that they were moving, she had imagined a beautiful, old fashioned cottage with roses intertwined with the trellis around the door. She got the old bit right, but it was dark and gloomy and in every corner was a spider with cobwebs so thick it was almost impossible to see any light through them. 

Josie and Caroline had spent every spare minute trying to get the place sorted, but no matter what they did, it still gave Josie a strange feeling. A feeling of what could be described as dread, only she was unsure why.

“New place, new job, new beginning,” Caroline kept saying, doing her very best to sound somewhat cheery. But the “new  
beginning” bit was the hardest – at least, it was for Josie.

It was alright for her mom - she’d lived in Mystic Falls before Josie was born so it wasn’t really a new beginning for her anyway. But Josie barely had time to finish the school year before she was packing up her old life in a stack of muddy brown cardboard boxes and leaving everything she knew behind her. 

“I still don’t get why we had to move here in the first place,” she complained, sitting down to lunch that first week - pizza again, served on an upturned crate. They’d had pizza every day since they arrived. Hot pizza for lunch, and cold leftover pizza for dinner. Josie had never thought she could get sick of pizza – but she was starting to question that now.

Caroline looked across at her, frowning slightly. 

“What do you mean, you don’t understand? How many times do I have to keep explaining it to you?” 

“I know, I know, ‘it’s a great opportunity, too good to pass up’ but you were happy where we used to live, weren’t you? And did you ever think about me, about how I would feel? What am I supposed to do without Penelope? And what about my photography course? You know how much I love doing it...” 

“Look I’m really sorry, Josie.” Caroline pressed her fingers to the side of her temples as if she were in pain. 

“I know it’s really hard for you, but I’m sure Penelope will come and visit later in the summer, and there’ll be plenty more opportunities for you to take photos around here, its beautiful!" She started to clear away the pizza. “Opportunities like this don’t come along very often, you know, not when you get to my age. I’ll be running my own school. It’s a huge, huge step up.”

They were just so busy those first few days, they didn’t have much time to think about what Josie was going to do once  
Caroline actually started her great new job. Was Josie going to attend the Salvatore School? Or was she going to to attend a public school on the edge of town?

It was the summer holidays – the hottest July on record, the news kept saying – and six empty weeks stretched out in front of her. She couldn't stop thinking about Penelope and wondering how she was doing. They weren’t connected to the internet yet, and she could barely get a phone signal for long enough to call anyone. They worked their way through the biggest boxes the first weekend they arrived. They had been unpacking for over three hours straight and Josie was just about ready to collapse from heat exhaustion when her mum’s old friend, Elena, popped by to help them. 

“Caroline Forbes, I can’t believe you’re back!” she cried, bursting in and throwing her arms round Caroline. “It is so good to see you. And oh my god is this the beautiful Josie? You're so grown up!” 

She turned round to face Josie, grabbing hold of both her hands and squeezing them tight. Josie shook my head, blushing. No one had ever called her beautiful before. In her opinion, neat brown hair, a turned-up nose and pouty lips don’t exactly add up to beautiful, but anyone who saw her could admit she was stunning. 

“We go back years, your mother and I,” Elena went on, her eyes full of mischief. “I’ve known her since we were 10, can you believe...?”

Josie couldn’t imagine her mom being 10. She was always so sensible and grown up. More like a head teacher than anything else, which she guessed was a good thing now.

“Was she misbehaved?” Josie asked, knowing what the answer would be. 

“Misbehaved?” Elena laughed. “Scared of her own shadow, your mom.” 

Josie liked Elena straight away. She didnt remember her at all. She was the same age as Caroline but she seemed years younger. She had wavy brown hair and hazel eyes and she never stopped smiling. She swept into the dark, empty house, filling it with noise and laughter.

When she eventually got fed up with unwrapping cups and plates, and cleaning out cupboards, she put on an old CD and danced around the room – grabbing Josie and Caroline in turn and swinging them around until they were red faced and out of breath. 

“It’s too hot, Elena,” Caroline groaned, pushing her away, but Josie could tell she didn’t mind. 

“We used to dance all night,” said Elena. “And I don’t remember you complaining then!” 

“It was you who used to dance all night,” said Caroline, laughing. “I was the one trying to drag you home. But I have missed you very much,” she added. “It’s been far too long.” 

“I’ve missed you too, Care,” said Elena, serious for a moment. Josie thought it was great to meet someone from Caroline's past. She’d never really talked much about why she left Mystic falls. She split with Josie's father, Alaric and moved away when Josie was 5, but she never said why. Meeting Elena was getting a tiny step closer to finding out what really happened. 

“Why don’t I ask Stefanie to show you around? Shes my daughter.” she said to Josie as she was leaving. “She’ll only drive me mad getting under my feet all summer if she stays at home!” 

Josie nodded, smiling, although inside her stomach clenched up. She couldn’t imagine going off around the village with some girl she’d never met before. There were quite a few visitors after that. Elena must’ve passed the word round that they were back. That’s the thing with small towns - it doesn’t take long for news to spread. 

At the end of the week, Mrs Lockwood came by from the town council. She was small and bony and all buttoned up, even though it was easily the hottest day so far. 

“Are the two of you planning to come to the founders meeting?” she asked primly, while Caroline poured them all a cup of tea. Josie noticed she’d used the best cups and a proper teapot instead of the kettle. 

Caroline gave a small nod. “We’ll certainly try our best, although I'm trying to clear this place and start the renovations and what with all the unpacking and everything...” 

She trailed off and they sat in silence for a moment. Mrs Lockwood gave Josie bad vibes. There was something sour about her. She kept staring at Josie in this really intense way, and when Caroline offered her a cookie she muttered something random about gluttony and sin. Josie could just imagine Penelope saying, 'What is that woman’s problem?' and she had to stop herself from laughing into her cup. 

“How do you think you’ll like Mystic Falls, Josette?” she asked after a bit. “It’s not the most exciting place for a girl of your age.” 

“She’ll be fine,” said Caroline quickly. “It’s just the two of us, so Josie is used to her own company, and she’ll soon make friends when school starts. I’ve enrolled her at Mystic Falls High; it’s where I went.”

There's the answer to Josie's question.

Mrs Lockwood sniffed. “There’s no discipline these days, not like when I was at school.” 

When was that then? Josie felt like saying. Mrs Lockwood ended up staying for another cup of tea, going on about the house and how old it was and other tedious stuff. Caroline kept looking at her watch and clearing her throat in a really obvious way, but it didn’t seem to make the slightest difference. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve still got some unpacking to do,” Josie said, at the first chance she got, and escaped upstairs. She couldn’t stand her new room. It was small and dark and airless, even with the window open. But it wasn’t the size, or the lack of light that bothered her so much, it was the way it felt. Leaving her old room behind was one of the hardest things about moving; like losing a part of who she was. She didn't feel at home, and she didnt feel safe. She tried to explain to her mom but she just didn’t get it. She said that by the end of the summer Josie would be so settled, she wouldn’t even remember what her old room looked like. Josie knew she was wrong.

The night before they moved had been the worst. Josie started to think about all the people who would live in her room after her, and how it wouldn’t be hers any more, and how no one would know she spent the majority of her life there. At some point  
she got up and scratched 'Josie Forbes' into the window sill. She used an old nail from the back of her door, where her dressing gown used to hang. She spent ages scraping away at the wood until the letters were really deep. She just wanted to make sure a tiny part of her was left behind, even if it was only her name.

She didn’t really have any more unpacking to do; it was just an excuse to get away from Mrs Lockwood. She lay on her bed listening to her and Caroline talking. They were standing by the front door, and Mrs Lockwood was asking Caroline about the founders meeting again. She couldn’t make out what Caroline was saying back as her voice was too quiet – but she knew she’d be trying to get rid of her. She’d been really funny about visitors dropping by, apart from Elena. She said it was one of the things she hated most about this town: the way people just assumed they could turn up, without calling first to make sure it was okay. 

***

Josie found the box that night, much later, after Mrs Lockwood had left to go home. It was wedged under her mom’s bed with a load of other stuff, it probably got shoved under there when we were unpacking. Josie was looking for a magazine to use for her journalling and the only way she could reach the one she wanted was by pulling the box right out. It looked like one of those old-fashioned jewellery boxes, the kind with the music and ballet dancer twirling around inside. It was made of very dark wood, with a gorgeous gold pattern engraved on the lid and a tiny padlock. 

Josie ran her hands over the surface. It didn’t look new but she was sure she’d never seen it before. She could hear her mom in the living room. She was ironing her shirt for the morning. Josie thought about taking the box down, to ask her if she could have it – but she opened it first, just to see if there was anything interesting inside. She didn’t know what she expected to find. Some of her late grandmother's jewelry or Caroline's old wedding ring maybe, or some earrings she could borrow but there was nothing in there, not even the music and dancer. Just a tatty piece of fabric and an old photo. 

The fabric was soft and a little dusty; small bits of thread fraying from the edges. There was a message stitched across the middle in small, neat crosses spelling 'I LOVE YOU' in faded red cotton. The kind of thing you make when you’re at school. She placed it back in the box and picked up the photo. It was small and slightly old-fashioned, and she knew there was something strange about it straight away. It was a picture of her mom lying in a hospital bed with two babies in her arm. 2 baby girls wrapped up tight, each in a small pink blanket. Caroline was smiling at the camera, her eyes shining with excitement. Josie couldn’t believe how young she looked. She didn’t think she'd ever seen her look that young or that happy. She sat there clutching the photo, a million questions piling up inside her head. Because she know about my own birth. Not much, but enough to realize that something was wrong. She knew she didnt ever have any siblings. Not a sister and certainly not a twin sister. Josie knew that she came far too quickly; they only just made it to the hospital. It was mid-March, with summer approaching it was starting to get hit. She was born at 9am and the midwife said she’d never seen a baby in so much of a hurry to come out. 

It was Just Josie, Caroline and Alaric. No one else. No other baby. No other pink blanket. Surely this isn't right . Maybe this was just some weird coincidence. Maybe that's why Caroline had the photo. Because the woman looked exactly like her. They say you have 4 people in the world that look exactly like you right? Josie's mind was racing uncontrollably.

She turned the photo over, her hands suddenly trembling. There was a date in the top right-hand corner. A date written in Caroline's small, neat handwriting. The words and numbers jumped about in front of Josie's eyes and she had to blink a few times to refocus. 

_March 15th 2003 ___

__The exact day Josie was born._ _


End file.
